Holding on, letting go, and finding joy and meaning in the midst of it all…life seems to be a balance of all these things.  As I grow older, I find more and more that what I need to hold on to, what is constant, is my relationship with God who made me and knows me.  Whatever changes in my life, He doesn’t.  And I’m so thankful for that.

I’m a musician, a pianist mostly.  Everything else springs from that…the vocals, the songwriting.  And in the past few months, I found that I have a problem in my thumb…no cartilage from overuse.  So I’ve been icing, heating, exercising, resting, bracing the thumb that I took for granted all these years.  My daughter and I were talking about Prokofiev the other day, and it hit me…I probably will never play that again.  Too much strain on the thumb.  And it made me sad.  Holding on, letting go, finding joy.  Loss is a part of life for all of us, but after the storm of sadness, there is still joy.  I can still play the piano, just differently, and I am thankful.  I don’t take it for granted anymore like I used to.  And I’m not just a musician; I’m God’s child.  And one day, all will be made new; no more tears and sadness.  And that’s joy.

I thought about not sharing all this, because I never want to be a downer, only an encouragement.  But I know that many of you are facing hard times also, and we are here to pray and help each other along the way.  Let me know if I can pray for you.   Blessings, Lisa

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.” – Isaiah 12:2a